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What are you doing here? (1 Kings 19:11-13)

Note: this is a draft of an old post that I wrote and never published! Today it seemed to need to be posted :)

Scripture of the Day: 1 Kings 19:11-13
11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”


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Do you ever have days where you can't see the Lord trying to communicate with you and others when he screams his presence? I have been thinking about these verses the last couple of days. I have been wondering of late if because of the loudness of the world that is my life right now, I couldn't hear God's whisper over it all. I have been praying to hear God in the whisper because the shouts of everything else are becoming consuming.

And today it happened! My old pastor wrote a Lenten devotional and today's verses were these! And as I was all excited to hear this "whisper", God took my focus to another place. To the question of "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

God played a trick on me! He didn't need me to find him in the whisper...he needed to call me out on MY current place. I think God is asking me today, "What are you doing here, Betsy?"

"What are you doing in this place of doubt and loss? What are you hiding from? I have called you out. Do not seek the place of the past. Guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus and the rest will fall into place. Trust ME."

My response to this message from God this morning is simple, "But God, it's hard and I don't know what to do."

And the answer comes from scripture that has been on my heart for a couple of days...John 16:33, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Today it must be enough to know that if I listen, truly listen, I can hear God anywhere. It may be He's whispering, or it may be He is saying something I'm not ready to hear. Jesus Christ overcame the world. And because of that, I MUST be willing to hear what God needs to say - even if I don't like it. Even if what He says brings me pain; it will also eventually bring me peace. Again, Jesus overcame the world. For me. For you. And you. And you. And you! :) 

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